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Give the assists to the referee’s wife Tori, who wouldn’t let newborn daughter Sydney take a delay of game penalty in Ottawa.

“It’s a big honour to be here because (the baby’s birth) was weighing on my mind just because she was already a couple of days overdue,” the 15-year OHL official said. “I was hoping we had the baby and it was getting closer (to having to leave for London). They were going to induce her (last Monday) and really, the uncertainty of it all was up in the air.”

Reid was able to welcome his second child in the nation’s capital, then officiate in his third Cup.

“Being from here and growing up here and my wife living here, too, she was just as excited as I was about this,” Sean said. “We talked about, ‘do I even go?’ She said, ‘We’ll work around it. There’s no way you’re not going.’”

Reid’s parents drove to Ottawa and brought mother and child to London on Thursday.

“She wanted to make the trek, six, seven days after having a baby,” Sean said. “London plays a special role in our hearts and we have fond memories of the city itself.

“Beyond that, it’s nice to have them here. Lots of people want to see a brand new baby.”

After Reid arrived, he was speaking to Cup chair and Knights governor Trevor Whiffen about his whirlwind week and what this assignment means. The Canadian Hockey League gives this tournament to its top officials.

“Trevor said, as an official, this is our championship season,” Sean, a mortgage planning specialist, said. “To be here, it’s like hoisting a trophy. It’s special it’s here in my hometown. The first Cup (in 2007 at Vancouver) was the first one, so you remember that, and the second one in Shawinigan (two years ago) was exciting and emotional.”

He earned the championship game assignment both previous trips.

“I’ve been fortunate to do two finals at the first two Cups,” he said, “and they were both great games (won by the hometown team).”

Reid’s son Matthew, now two-and-a-half, understands what it means when his dad dons the stripes.

“He knows I’m a referee,” Reid said. “When I leave (the house), he says, ‘Hockey’. And every time you turn a game on TV, whether it’s me or not, he looks at the referee and says, ‘Daddy, Daddy.’”